Hearts of Sorrow
by CeruleanArrow
Summary: Naruko has dark scars and even darker secrets. This doesn't stop Sasuke from befriending her and falling in love. He wants nothing more than to protect and love her, but Naruko's heart won't easily open. When they are placed on the same team, Sasuke has the opportunity to try breaking the locks that hold Naruko's heart captive. Will he succeed or will fate take her away from him?
1. A Contract

**A/N: Welcome to the first chapter, hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **No beta was harmed in the making of this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter One: A Contract**

Tragedy strikes those most unfortunate, but even more tragic are the people who have fate's target hanging over their head. Naruko Uzumaki, a girl barely the age of six, was one of the most tragic cases of all. The true story began on the day of Naruko's unfortunate birth, but it was one dark stormy night that set her fate in motion.

Naruko had always been alone, at least ever since she was old enough to make herself food and take care of her health. She had no parents left and the orphanage had not wanted to keep her, so with money her family had left her after their deaths she was bought a small apartment all for her own. Naruko had no friends and no one she could talk to. For whatever reason, all the children in the village avoided her and all the adults treated her worse. There wasn't a day that went by where she wasn't glared at, called ugly names and shoved around by the villagers. The only ones who didn't treat her like dirt were the lovely people at the Ichiraku Ramen stand where she frequently ate; Teuchi and his daughter Aiyame. They were kind enough to let her eat at a discount and the more she got to know the owner and his family, the more she got free meals!

Ichiraku's ramen was where she had been on the night it all went down. It had been dark and rainy, and Naruko had run out of bread to make herself sandwiches. By the time she decided she had wanted to eat, it was too late for the market to be open, so she had decided Ichiraku's was the best solution.

Naruko had never been afraid of walking herself anywhere on her own. Most people avoided her all together so there wasn't much to worry about. The walk there had been uneventful, and Naruko enjoyed three whole bowls of steaming hot ramen before she called it quits. Just because she was a girl didn't mean she wasn't allowed to eat a lot.

It had began to rain when Naruko decided to walk home.

"Hey Naruko, are you sure you'll be okay out there, going home by yourself and all? It's raining and dark." Said Ichiraku himself, a kind man who couldn't bring himself to ever be unkind to the girl.

Naruko looked over at him and gave him a big grin, her blue eyes lighting up happily. "I'll be okay! I always am!" She gave him a thumbs up and hopped off her stool. "I'll see you again soon!" She yelled and ran out into the rain. As much as she was told by Teuchi she shouldn't be doing anything that would make her sick, Naruko loved walking in the rain. There was something so refreshing about the way it could wash away all the bad things in life. It was because of this that Naruko decided to take the long way home. What she didn't realize were the eyes following her every move.

Naruko turned the corner and headed down a small alley way, going towards the empty neighbourhood where construction had just began. Sometimes she liked to walk through it and imagine that she could live in one of the houses that were being build, with her very own family. That night, the street lanterns were dim and made it harder to see, but still light enough for her to make out objects and shapes. Since the last time she had been there the houses had grown taller and wider, closer and closer to being finished.

"Oof!" Naruko winced as she fell back onto her rear. She looked up and brushed her soaking wet bangs out of her eyes to see the dark figure of a person. Tall and thick, just like the buildings around her.

"Hey kid, watch where your going." The person growled. "You got my jacket covered in your filth."

Naruko blinked in confusion and fear. She stood up and turned to run away. She had always been told to never talk to strangers and something about this guy gave her the creeps. Naruko didn't get far though, because as she ran back the way she came, she bumped into another person.

"Not so fast demon witch." The man in front of her cackled. She heard the squishing of shoes in the mud behind her and looked back to see two men accompanying the man she had originally run into. Four in total.

"What do you want!? I just want to go home!" She yelled over the sound of rain.

"Oh look, the brat speaks." One of them laughed loudly and then kicked Naruko's back, sending her sprawling forwards into the mud. Naruko cried out in pain and tried to look back but a foot made contact with her head and kept her face pressed into the ground. "Shut up little devil. Grab her and follow me."

Naruko was grabbed from the ground and dragged along with the four men. She screamed for help desperately. The men didn't even bother covering up her mouth; they knew no one was coming for her. No one was around to hear her cries.

Naruko was dragged into one of the unfinished homes and dumped on the floor, crying. She knew she was trapped. Shivers ran across her body and the heavy pressure of dread knotted in her stomach.

"Why are you doing this!?" She cried desperately, but she was only laughed at. When she tried to get up and run, she was thrown back down against the wooden floor and pressed down by one man while another used rough rope to bind her. The frayed rope bit into her skin and made her bleed. Naruko sobbed as the men laughed and called her names. The torture started quickly and didn't end for hours.

The four men hovered over her laughing as she screamed. One man kicked her in the stomach, another crushed her fingers with the heel of his boot. When she tried to bite one of them, she received a punch to the jaw that made her dizzy followed by a kick to the side of her head, causing her to roll onto her stomach. Blood spewed from her mouth and seeped into the floor boards. She heard the sound of clanking metal and one of the men suggesting they 'get to the real fun'. The next thing Naruko knew was the pain of a knife digging into her back. Naruko screamed in torture as a man slowly dragged a knife diagonally across her back and then repeating the motion on the other side, creating a large 'X' in her skin.

"Stop! St-Stop!" She begged, choking on the blood in her mouth. "Please!"

They didn't listen. Instead they rolled her over onto her bleeding back and stabbed a kunai into her wrist, going through the skin and pinning her to the floor. Naruko's screams of pain were laughed at by the men.

"This is what you get. You shouldn't even be alive you stupid demon!"

More knives. More cuts. Soon enough Naruko looked like a human pin cushion. She was slowly losing her consciousness; her eyesight began to blur, the smell of blood faded and the sounds of laughter and name calling were drowned out by the sound of her own beating pulse.

 **Do you want to die?**

The deep voice came from nowhere and everywhere at once. Naruko closed her eyes and stared at the inside of her eyelids, wondering if she was hearing things.

 **Do you want to die?**

The voice repeated itself again, and this time Naruko knew it was speaking to her. She couldn't muster up the strength to speak, so instead she just thought her answer to herself.

 _Why would I want to live? All anyone ever does is treat me like I shouldn't exist. I have no friends, I have no family. Why should I live? I did nothing to deserve this!_

To Naruko's surprise, the voice answered back.

 **Such a pitiful girl; one who's very life was stained red from the day she was born.**

Naruko lay there, crying in pain beyond what she had ever felt before, but somehow she could only focus on the voice she heard.

 _Who are you?_ She thought.

 **Who am I? Open your eyes and you may see.**

Naruko did just that, but when she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the room with those men hovering over her. She was no longer pinned to the ground and bleeding. Instead she found herself sitting in a dark room she had never been in or seen before. In front of her sat a cage larger than she had ever seen; taller than the biggest building in her town. The silver bars that covered the cage were thick and looked strong.

Naruko stood and began walking towards the cage curiously.

 _Where am I?_

 **Right where you were before, but this time you are inside of your mind.**

 _My mind? How is that possible? And where are you?_

 **Right in front of you.**

Before Naruko could ask any other question, two large eyes appeared before her inside of the cage. Naruko gasped and stepped back in surprise. The eyes came closer and closer and until the eyes were attached to a face and that face was attached to a body. Naruko's own eyes widened.

 _You're the…_

 **Yes, I am. The nine tailed fox demon. The very one that destroyed your village on the very day you were born… And I reside within you now.**

Naruko stumbled back and fell to her knees. _How is that possible!? The hokage killed you and saved the whole village! How are you inside of me!?_

 **No Naruko, I was never killed, that is just what you were told to believe. I could never be killed, instead they decided to seal me away in a vessel.** ** _You_** **are that vessel. Those who were there know this, and though they were sworn to secrecy, they tell their children to avoid you.** He exposed his teeth in a fierce frown as he looked down at her.

Naruko's eyes welled up with tears and she began to cry. She pointed at the demon. _It was you!? You're the reason why everyone avoids me, calls me names and picks on me!? They think I'm a monster because of you!?_

 **It would seem that is the case.** He said and watched the little girl cry. Somehow it made his heart shift. **Naruko… Do you want to live? I can make all of the pain go away… I can stop any that oppose you. I can make you the best ninja there ever was, I can raise you to show everyone that you are not a demon. We can defy them together.**

Naruko looked up in disbelief. He could do that? Well, he was a demon after all, but why would she ever want the help of a demon?

 **I can make the hurting go away. I will lend you my power. We can become one, and with me… You will never be alone again.**

Naruko gasped and looked up at the fox demon. She stared into his eyes, and for a moment she saw it… A kindness she hadn't seen from anyone else. Coming from the demon who had destroyed her village. Yet, somehow she knew he was telling the truth; he would truly help her.

 _You will help me? I wont be an embarrassment anymore? I can show them all that I am not a monster?_ She asked and wiped her tears, slowly standing up.

 **Come to me, my child, and I shall give my power to you. I will protect you from all harm.** He said as he stared down at her with those red eyes.

 _Okay…_ She said and slowly stepped forward, looking up at the beast. Naruko walked towards the cage and stopped in front of it.

With more bravery then Naruko had ever felt before, she reached out, her hand slowly sliding through the metal bars to rest on the fox demons orange fur. Their eyes met and for a moment Naruko knew she would be okay.

 **Yes, thats it child** , He whispered through her mind, **Now sleep.**

Naruko's eyes slowly became blurry and everything went dark. In that instant her very fate was sealed.

* * *

When Naruko awoke she found herself laying in the middle of a hospital bed, covered in bandages and attached to a wire that hooked up to a machine reading her heartbeat.

She was safe now? Away from the bad men who had hurt her? The fox demon had been telling the truth, he had saved her and protected her.

Naruko looked over as a nurse came into the room. The nurse screamed in fright, obviously not expecting Naruko to be awake or even alive. Once she gained her composure, the timid woman walked over to the girl. Something about the way she stared at Naruko made her feel uncomfortable, like she had something on her face/

"You're awake now…" The nurse stated, though that much was obvious. "We didn't expect you to… well, to wake up at all."

Naruko furrowed her brows in confusion. "Miss… What happened? Where am I?" She asked. Why was she in the hospital? She actually felt good, great even. Her body felt better then it ever had been.

"Oh dear, you don't remember?" She asked and then pulled up a chair to sit next to the girls bed. "Well, last month there was a terrible fire in the new housing district. it destroyed all the houses there. While people were trying to put out the fire… They found you laying there covered in wounds… All by yourself."

Naruko blinked in confusion and then nodded. Somehow the demon had saved her… with fire? She had been in the hospital for a whole month? She was too relieved to be alive to even question it further.

"I'll go and get a doctor, you just stay right here." The nurse said, her voice shaking as if she didn't want to say anything that would make Naruko angry. Naruko didn't understand.

When the nurse had fled the room, Naruko slowly moved to the ledge of the bed and hopped down. She pulled the IV from her arm easily and slowly walked over to the mirror that was sitting in the bathroom. Naruko's breath was taken away, and she suddenly realized why the woman had been afraid. Where Naruko's old eyes had been a light blue with tiny round pupils, her eyes were now a spectacular kaleidoscope of blues and sitting right in the middle of her eye was a slit pupil, just like that in cats eyes. Kyuubi's pupils. Naruko reached up to touch her eye to find that yes, they were in fact real.

The rest of her face was covered in bandages. Naruko reached up and began pulling them off, pausing when they too showed her more surprises. Where her cheeks had once been smooth and bare, were now mauled with three scars in the shape of whiskers on each side, just like the fox demon.

With her new eyes and new scars, Naruko felt like she looked like a whole new girl… And she was okay with it, because she _was_ a new girl. She was going to be strong from now on. Tougher and better than anything that came her way.

Naruko was going to be the best there was and Kyuubi was going to help her get there.


	2. The Academy

**A/N:** Thanks all for your support! Here is the second chapter. It's a bit longer than the first and I hope to have the third chapter done by the end of the day, so if you all continue to review and give me feedback I'll be happy to post asap!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

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 **Chapter Two: The Academy**

Naruko was six when she entered the Ninja academy. Most children entered at ages four to five, but she had never had the chance to sign up due to the incident the prior year. Luckily she didn't fall behind, and had trained on her own from scrolls and had even had Kyuubi's interaction on some matters. There was no way she was going to fall behind.

When the first day of her schooling came around, Naruko was a bundle of nerves. That morning she woke up early, made herself a quick breakfast and began pacing her house, truing to decide what she was going to wear. She wasn't going to know anyone and everyone was already going to have a few friends from the class before, so she needed something that would help her stand out.

She rummaged though her closet, which held lots of hand-me-downs she had gotten from Ayame at Ichiraku's. She settled on a pair of plain black shorts, a white t-shirt with a red swirl on it that hid the large 'X' scar on her back and black ninja sandals. She mentally noted that she was going to need to go buy a better outfit. Maybe something more colourful?

Naruko brushed her teeth and looked at herself in the mirror. The wounds on her cheeks had healed nicely into dark scars. Paired with her blue cat-like eyes she looked even more like a fox then she had prior to the incident. She was proud of the features; it just reminded her that Kyuubi was there for her. Before she left her apartment she pulled her short hair into two cute pigtails on the top of her head and brushed her messy bangs.

On the walk to school, Naruko ignored the evil glares and hateful words she ward under peoples breaths, and instead had a quiet conversation with Kyuubi.

 _I think I'm kind of nervous. Do you think I will be any good?_ She thought to herself, knowing Kyuubi could hear her thoughts if she directed them to him.

 **There is no need to worry. You have trained well, you will excel.** His voice said back from inside of her head.

 _I hope I can make some friends… But I know thats a long shot._ She sighed out loud as she thought that. People seemed to avoid her more now with her scars and weird fox eyes.

 **I never was one to have allies, I never saw the need.** Kyuubi said.

 _What about me? Am I your ally?_ She asked.

 **You are my ward… There is a difference.**

Was there really a difference, Naruko wondered, or was the fox demon just trying to cover up his feelings? He always tried to act indifferent to her, but she knew he cared. Otherwise he would have never offered to save her, right? Well, she knew that if she died, so did he… But she knew he cared past that now.

Naruko said her goodbyes to him as he told her to be brave and kick all the other kids butts. When she wasn't talking to him, he usually liked to sleep the day away and let her do her training or reading or whatever else young girls do. Today was a big day so she was sure that she would have plenty to tell him later.

Naruko was surprisingly one of the first people to the classroom. She supposed she had just been eager to get there. The few people that were in the room when she arrived either gasped in surprise or averted their eyes. She knew they recognized her and they were just following what their parents had told them to do; look away and ignore her. It stung a bit, but she wouldn't let it get to her. She climbed the stairs of the class and plopped down on the right side of the room in the middle row. All she had to do now was wait for more students and the teacher.

The next person to come in after her was a shy looking girl with cropped navy hair, pale skin and even paler eyes. She walked carefully and quietly up the stairs to the very top and hid herself in a corner, burrowing into her baggy t-shirt and nervously pulling at her long skirt. She looked uncomfortable and nervous. Was she new too, or did she just not have any friends like Naruko?

After her came a quiet boy with round sunglasses and hair that looked like he had just stuck a fork in an electric socket. He wore a baggy jacket that covered the lower half of his face and even baggier pants. Naruko swore she saw a bug run arose his forehead and into the spiky forest he called hair, but she decided that she was seeing things. The very thought of bugs running along her skin gave her the shivers.

Soon enough the class was getting filled up. A chubby boy who was already digging into a bag of chips, even though it was the morning time. He had red swirls on his chubby cheeks and his brown hair was also rather gravity defying. Beside him was a boy who looked half asleep, his hair pulled back into a spiky ponytail.

A boy who was carrying with him a white dog that looked rather adorable, though Naruko wasn't a huge fan of canines. He had shaggy brown hair and two red upside down triangles make underneath his eyes.

The loudest of the class were the pink haired girl with the green eyes and the platinum blonde and blue eyes girl that came to class with her. They were gushing about something, and under closer listening Naruko almost vomited. They were talking about cute boys, rather loudly and rambunctiously. As if that wasn't enough, they started to squeal rather loudly when the last person arrived. Half the class that was made up of girls decided to join in. Naruko noticed the shy girl didn't bother even looking at the boy and she instantly liked the girl a lot more.

He had very pale skin, unlike Naruko's sun kissed body. His eyes were a dark black colour and his had matched the same dark colour scheme; a deep obsidian that was styled into sleek looking spikes. It was reminiscent of a ducks tail feathers. Naruko decided then that if he was _so great_ like all his fangirls thought, Naruko would choose him as her rival and show all the annoying fangirls that he wasn't so great after all.

There was barely any seats left and no one had been brave enough to sit next to Naruko. The only other choice of seating was beside a boy with a snotty nose who wouldn't stop sneezing. So with a look of disdain, the boy walked over and took a seat beside Naruko. She rolled her eyes at him and huffed. Its not like she wanted to sit beside him either!

The door opened and a young man walked in with a big smile. He was much older than them, around eighteen or nineteen. He had brown messy hair that was pulled back into a spiky ponytail. Deep brown eyes, tan skin and a scar running across his nose to his cheeks. He would be considered fairly attractive by women his age. Naruko learned that this man, Iruka Umino, was new to teaching a class on his own this year. Although he had helped teach in other classes, this year was the first that he would be in charge of the class on his own. He seemed rather excited.

"So class, I recognize some of your faces, but why don't we go around and introduce ourselves so we can get to know one another better." Iruka suggested. "Your name, your likes and your dreams should do. I'll start. I am Iruka Umino, your teacher this year. I enjoy teaching and helping kids like yourself grow to become great ninja. My own dream is to one day see my students rise above and become some of the strongest ninja alive." He grinned and looked at them all.

Naruko smirked. She would make his dream come true. She _was_ going to be the top kunoichi of all time and be able to kick any boys butt.

"Alright, now why don't we start at the front and work our way back? First up please." Iruka gestured to the sleepy, lazy boy from earlier who had flopped in a chair at the front.

"What a drag…" He muttered quietly and leaned forward in his seat. "I'm Shikamaru Nara. I enjoy playing Shogi and Go with my dad. My dream is to one day be allowed to sleep and play with the deer at my place as much as I want."

Iruka laughed and nodded. "That's a good dream Shikamaru. Next please."

"Choji Akamichi here!" The chubby boy announced, swallowing a handful of chips. "I like all kinds of food, especially chips and candy. My dream is to one dar enter in the worlds biggest food eating competition and win!"

"Looks like he already could." Someone snickered from behind Naruko and Naruko turned to glare at them. Her scary eyes shut the girl right up.

The introductions went on, random guys and girls went along saying their hobbies and their childish aspirations. People said they wanted to become the head of their clan, or get good grades or become Chunnin or Jonin. In Naruko eyes, these were admirable, but it wasn't enough. She wanted to aim higher.

Kiba Inuzuka was up next, nearing Naruko's aisle. He held out his puppy, Akamaru, and all the girls cooed and squealed over how cute it was. Naruko winced. Her sensitive smell could pick up that dog breath from her seat behind him. "I'm Kiba and this is Akamaru! We both like running and playing in the forest and we always do everything together. When I grow up, I'm going to go on awesome missions with Akamaru and get rid of all the bad guys." As if he agreed, Akamaru barked happily, making more girls swoon.

Next up was the two loud girls. The blonde girl introduced herself first as Ino.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka. I like flowers and makeup and shopping. One day I'm going to run my families flower shop and create medicines and potions that will cure illnesses! Oh and perfumes!" She grinned happily and looked at the pink haired girl with a smirk. The pinkette rolled her eyes and shook her head. Naruko didn't care much about the perfume but the fact that the girl wanted to save lives with medicines was really kind of her. The next girls answer was quite the opposite, and made Naruko want to wretch.

"I'm Sakura Haruno," The pink haired girl introduced in a snotty tone that made her sound like she thought she was better than everyone else. "I like studying and reading and tea, all the things that are expected from a lady. One day I am going to marry my true love and have a big family with him." She giggled to herself, blushed and then looked over at the boy beside Naruko.

 _Disgusting. Girls like that have no shame._ She thought to herself.

When it came to Naruko, the blonde girl stood up with a smirk. "I'm Naruko Uzumaki, and I'm everything a girl _should_ be." She laughed, rolling her eyes at the pink haired girl. "I eat what I want, and I love ramen. I train hard, get bruises and scars and scratches. I don't like tea and I don't care about makeup or shopping. And I don't have dreams, what I have is an ambition that I am going to make happen. I am going to be the best Kunoichi there ever was and rise above all others." She slammed her hand on the desk. "Believe it!"

Naruko had all the attention in the classroom on her. Everyone was looking at her with mixed expressions. Sakura snorted and rolled her eyes. "As if! If you are really going to be the best, you would have to become Hokage… And no one would ever take you as the Hokage. You have to be _liked_ by the people."

Naruko frowned and glared at her. "The last time I checked, the Hokage wasn't in that position because of a popularity contest, but you know what, you're right. The strongest person in the village _is_ the Hokage. So thats what I'll do. _I'll_ become the first female Hokage. Believe it!" She cackled and smirked, giving the pink haired girl a smug glare. Sakura flinched as she looked into those slit pupils and saw a fierce passion behind them.

From beside Naruko, Sasuke Uchiha was looking up at the girl in part shock, part admiration. She was very unlike other girls. She had a passion and a drive to do what she wanted. He had never seen anyone so passionate about anything before besides his mother who had always told Sasuke that if a woman couldn't get fired up about her ambitions, she wasn't worth being around.

Iruka hushed the class as he looked at the blonde girl. This girl… The retainer of the nine tailed fox demon wanted to become the greatest kunoichi and ninja alive. The part of Iruka that had hated the girl for being the host of the creature that killed his family melted away. He could see then and there that this girl had potential.

"Okay, okay. Have a seat Naruko. We'll move on now." Iruka said and gave Naruko a soft smile. _If you fight hard, I'm sure you can reach your goal someday Naruko._

Sasuke was next, but somehow he felt like whatever he could say would pale in comparison to what the energetic blonde beside him had said. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha." He stated. "I like my mothers cooking and tomatoes and training with my brother. I dream to one day surpass my brother and beat him in a fight."

The girls in the class squealed in excitement. "He's so cute!" "He's so cool!" "He's so attractive!" Naruko rolled her eyes. Fangirls were the most annoying thing that had ever existed.

Iruka quieted the class and made them move on, but Naruko was still glaring over at Sakura, Sasuke and the other annoying girls in the class. She barely heard Shino Aburame state that he enjoyed bugs and one day wanted to explore all the nations to find exotic and endangered bug species. Naruko was brought back to attention however, when a quiet girls voice began to speak in stutters. The whole class had went silent to try and hear what she was saying.

"I-I'm H-Hinata Hyuuga. I-I like music a-and flowers… I w-want to one day b-become m-more confident s-so I can take o-o-over the H-Hyuuga clan and get r-rid of the second branch s-so w-we can all live i-in unity." She stuttered, the blush growing more and more on her cheeks as she spoke. She obviously wasn't used to this much attention on her and she looked about ready to pass out. Yet, Naruko still found a deep appreciation for the girl. She was the heir of the Hyuuga household. It was a big responsibility, and she wanted to grow more confident to become a good leader. Hinata was probably the most admiral out of all of the class. Naruko made a mental note to talk to the quiet girl later.

Iruka smiled and looked at the whole class. "Well, it looks like we have a good mix of personalities, and I am personally very proud to have you as my first official class. We will start off class with a review of the basics. Now, we should all know about chakra, but can anyone give the class an overview of what we learned last year?"

Sakura's hand shot straight into the air and she smirked in pride, being the only one who seemingly wanted to answer the question. "Chakra is the result of combining your spiritual and your physical energies together. When channeled through your chakra network and focused with hand signs we can use it though genjutsu, ninjutsu and taijutsu. The five types of elemental chakra are: fire, water, lightning, earth and wind, though other forms seem to exist in special cases." She explained and then stuck her tongue out at Naruko. Naruko rolled her eyes at her immaturity.

Iruka smiled and nodded, "Good Sakura! Now, can anyone tell me the origin of chakra? This may be difficult because we haven't learned it yet but-"

"Chakra originated from the God Tree. The tree bared fruits that were filled with chakra. When a girl ate the fruit, she was the gifted with chakra. With her chakra she ended all the wars that were waging on earth. When she gave birth to her two sons, they were also born with chakra. Her one son spread his chakra across the world so that people could share a spiritual energy and understand each other so there would be peace forever. But people are greedy, and they combined the spiritual chakra with their physical energy and used to it be weaponized." Naruko cut in, explaining what Kyuubi had told her. He had been created from one of the women's sons.

Iruka looked at the girl in shock. He had only known about the legend because he had been blessed with the clearance to read some of the Hokage's sacred scrolls. A child her age would never have been allowed to read those scrolls, so it should have been impossible for her to know that much.

"How did you…?" Iruka mumbled before shaking his head. He would save the questions for a later date. "Naruko is completely right." Naruko smirked and ignored the heated glare coming her way from Sakura.

* * *

After lunch was dedicated to physical training. Since it was the first day they would be going over all the basics so Iruka could see where each student stood, and would rank the class accordingly. They were split into two groups, the girls and boys and each would take turns practicing while the other group watched. While Naruko didn't appreciate being put on the team of girls, she took it as an opportunity to show that her skills were above the rest of theirs.

She was by far the best kunoichi in their age group.

First was target practice and the boys went first. A majority of the class that had been in school the year before were decent at throwing their kunai and shuriken. Naruko observed them and noticed a few things; Kiba leaned to hard into his throw, Shikamaru was obviously too lazy to put much effort into the exercise, though most of his kunai hit the target, they weren't in the center, Shino was average but slow and Choji wasn't flicking his wrist enough to get a good speed on the weapons. Sasuke was the only one in their group to do perfectly, and this caused all the girls to squeal loudly, making Naruko roll her eyes.

When it was the girls turn, Naruko showed everyone just how skilled she was. She was quick and accurate. Of the ten kunai they were supposed to throw, she landed all ten within ten seconds. The boys on the side all shoved each other and whispered in amazement. The other girls weren't nearly as good and it made Naruko annoyed that they wanted to even be kunoichi if they hadn't spent their time training but rather preferred shopping and makeup. It made Naruko smirk when she saw how terrible Saukra was doing. The girl may have been book smart, but in practice, not so much.

After target practice was the obstacle course. Naruko had the fastest time out of all the girls, and was just as good as Sasuke. The girls all complained that she had cheated or the timer had been off by a bit, because how could she possibly get the same time as Sasuke?

Choji had the slowest time out of the boys, and the girls all laughed at him and pointed. Naruko, who wouldn't stand for that kind of shady attitude, walked over and pushed them straight into the mud.

"As if you should be making fun of him! Your times were some of the worst overall too!" She yelled at them, making them flinch. Naruko walked away with a smirk as the girls pulled themselves form the mud, complaining about ruined makeup and muddy dresses.

"You didn't have to do that you know." Choji called out to her, sitting with Shikamaru and Kiba. "I know I didn't do good."

Naruko looked over and shook her head. "You did good. At least you tried your hardest, thats more than what those girls can say for themselves."

Choji blushed softly. "Thank you."

Since the conversation seemed open, Kiba leaned in. "Hey, how did you get that good, huh? You could beat almost all of the people in our class."

Naruko smirked. "I got a few tricks up my sleeve, but mostly hard work and training. You guys could get really good too… You know, I could teach you a few things if you want?"

Kiba blinked, she would? "Is it really okay for us to learn from a girl?" He asked to Naruko and the other boys.

Naruko rolled her eyes, "Really? Does it matter that I'm a girl? If it makes you feel any different you can think of me as a guy too. Do you want to get better or not?"

Kiba smirked and Akamaru barked in agreement from his lap. "Yeah, yeah. I'm in. Anything to try and get better than that Uchiha."

Naruko smirked back. "Now you're talking. What about you guys?"

Choji nodded, Naruko seemed like a nice girl. She wasn't afraid to get bruises and get muddy, she would be a good addition to their hide and seek and ninja games. Plus she wanted to help them and didn't make fun of her. "Sounds good." Naruko grinned and looked at Shikamaru.

The lazy boy sighed and shrugged, "You don't seem like as much of a drag as other girls… I guess its okay." He actually wouldn't mind learning a bit more from her. Her creepy eyes seemed very attentive.

That was all three of them, and even Akamaru. Without their knowledge, a pact was born and from that day forward Naruko had three new best friends and a new furry companion. She was now officially one of the boys. Naruko would help them get better in their training, Choji would share his snacks and bring her lunches, Shikamaru would help her with strategies and watch the clouds with her and Kiba and Akamaru would be her running and sparring partners. All four of them were stuck to each other like glue from then on. They all hung out almost every day, trained together and ate together.

The week went by with the four getting to know each other better and becoming closer friends. At the end of the week, all four of them were standing together in the hallway, waiting for the class score results to be posted. The results would set the tone for the rest of the year; who was the top of the class and who was at the bottom. The boys were all trying to calm Naruko down as she was getting overly excited to see her name on the top of that list. They all knew she would be at the top of the kunoichi list, they just wondered where they would be.

Iruka walked out of the classroom and opened the scroll, posting it on the wall outside of their class. Naruko grinned in excitement and ran over. Just as she thought, her name was in the first spot for the Kunoichis, but that wasn't why she was there. She scanned the names on the boys side and gasped happily.

"Choji! You're not last!" She grinned and hugged the round boy, making him blush. With her help he had raised himself from the possible last position to 15th out of the 20 boys. Shikamaru was right ahead of him in 14th position and Kiba was at number 6. They were all gathered together, laughing and congratulating each other when a high pitched girl scream came from behind them. They turned around to see Sakura staring at the chart. Not only did she not get first, she wasn't even second. Somehow Ino had wriggled her way into the second position on the kunoichi list, and because of that Ino was Sakura's new enemy.

"I can't believe you would do this to me, Ino-pig!" Sakura yelled and stomped her foot, the cutesy girl act flying out the window. Ino frowned and crossed her arms, "Looks like you weren't as good as you though, huh Sakura?" Sakura pushed her and shook her head, "Well if you think we are friends anymore, think again!" Ino laughed, "Thats fine! I didn't want to be friends with a big browed girl like you anyways!" Sakura gasped and stormed off, probably to go cry and write hateful things in a fuzzy pink diary. As much as Naruko had been amused by the display, she knew that Sakura had been Ino's main friend. It must have hurt at least a little.

"Hey Yamanaka!" Naruko called, gaining her attention. Naruko grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up. "Good job getting second place, you deserved it." She didn't say any more and turned back to her friends, walking down the hall with them. They had all promised to go get barbecue together after they saw the results.

Ino stared at the retreating group in shock. "Gee… Thanks Naruko." She whispered. How come the girl she was supposed to hate had complimented her when the girl she called her best friend had ditched her for excelling? Maybe Naruko wasn't so bad after all? I mean, she was creepy and weird, but maybe she wasn't as terrible as Sakura suggested.

Ino looked back up at the chart to see Naruko's name above her own, and then looked at the name next to Naruko's in first place on the boys side. Ino wasn't surprised. He was the one person who seemed to rival Naruko's talent, but was also the one person Naruko seemed to despise the most.

 _Sasuke Uchiha._

Ino laughed and rolled her eyes. Maybe Naruko was right. Sasuke was dreamy, but he certainly wasn't worth losing friends over. This certainly would be an interesting class to be in.


	3. The Rival

**A/N: Hello all, here is the next chapter. Still pre-graduation. The next couple chapters will all be pre-graduation to create a good foundation for further plot. Just bear with me, there will be bits and pieces of fluff here and there. Also! For anyone who is scared of Sakura-bashing in this fic, I wouldn't be too concerned. Sakura currently is playing a minimal role, but will become more of a important piece later. I need her to be snotty now for good character development. You will all see soon enough! Anyways, enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: The Rival**

News spread fast about the rivals in Iruka-sensei's new class. Rumour had it that the two, a boy and a girl, always got the same scores no matter how hard they tried to beat each other, and for that they ended up hating each other and declaring that they would be rivals.

These rumours were mostly true.

After Sasuke had found out a girl had tied with him for first place with the exact same score, he made it his personal goal to outdo the blonde girl. What made things even worse for him was the fact that the girl would ignore him whenever he tried to tease her. He couldn't get under her skin at all. Instead she would just laugh at him, make faces and then tell him to run off with his fangirls. Sure Sasuke hated his fan girls and wish they left him alone, but he had never thought a girl would ever treat him the way Naruko did. Besides, he had never had anyone be better than him in school work before besides his older brother, so he made it his goal to become better than her and wipe that grin off her face.

Unfortunately, this seemed harder than he thought it would be. Whenever Sasuke thought he had improved, Naruko was right there beside him, improving just as much. Whenever he learned something new, so did she. It got to the point where Naruko was almost _better_ than him. If he hit all the targets with his kunai, she would do the same but blind folded. If he completed an obstacle course, she would do it with her hands tied behind her back. Sasuke was so angry that one day he had decided to put an end to it.

Naruko had been sitting with Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru at the end of the day one time at school on a friday. They didn't seem to be talking about anything important, just weekend plans so Sasuke took the opportunity to walk away from all his fan girls trying to get his attention, and grab her arm.

"Hey, we need to talk." He huffed and looked at the blonde girl. When Naruko looked over at him, he almost flinched. He wasn't used to those narrow pupils, just like an animals. Naruko just raised a brow and laughed. "What do you want, chicken hair?" Kiba burst out laughing, Akamaru barking alongside him, making Sasuke even more annoyed. Choji watched in confusion while shoving chips into his mouth. Shikamaru frowned and leaned forward. "Should you really be grabbing onto her like that?" He asked and sighed. "Bothersome…"

Sasuke removed his hand quickly and looked away, trying not to be embarrassed with the fact he had just been touching a girl… because girls were disgusting.

"I just need to talk to the dobe girl." He growled.

Naruko narrowed her eyes. "Like your the one to talk, teme. Fine then, lets go chat." She huffed. The boys all gave her a look, as if asking if she was sure. Naruko waved them off. "Its cool guys, I'll see you on monday!" She called and waved, and then followed Sasuke out of class, much to his fangirls disapproval. They walked outside and over towards the swing sitting outside. Parents were slowly filtering in to pick up their kids from school. Naruko tried to ignore it and instead focus her attention on Sasuke.

"So what is it you want teme?" Naruko asked with a huff.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her, "I want to know how you have been getting so good. Are you cheating? Its not normal for someone as weird as you to be so good."

Naruko crossed her arms, "What? Are you jealous Uchiha? You're just upset that I'm getting better than you!"

Sasuke frowned, "No, you baka! Why would I ever be jealous of you! Your annoying and loud and ugly."

Naruko puffed, "Well your uglier! You look like a potato!"

"A potato!? Is that all you have for insults, you loser?" He smirked.

"Jerk." Naruko huffed.

"Idiot." Sasuke countered.

"Bastard."

"Wench."

"Chicken Shit."

"Cow."

"Asshole!" Naruko yelled and stomped on his foot, making Sasuke yelp and grab onto his foot in pain. Neither had noticed the new arrival. A boy older than the both of them, standing behind Sasuke with an amused smirk.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked, calling both of their attention.

Naruko's eyes widened at the man behind Sasuke. He looked like Sasuke, but better. He had long black hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was taller and older with more defined features and looked rather muscular. His face was calm and amused as he stared down at them with his black eyes. Whoever he was, he was attractive. Naruko blushed at that thought.

Sasuke looked back and blushed as well. "B-Brother… What are you doing here?"

Naruko blinked. _Brother!? As in… Itachi Uchiha? No way._

Itachi smirked and looked at his younger brother. "I just got home from a mission so I thought that I would come and walk you home from school, but I see you are busy."

Sasuke shook his head. "No, no I'm not. She's just an stupid girl." If there was one person Sasuke wanted to beat more than Naruko, it was Itachi, and that was only because he admired his older brother so much.

"And who is she?" Itachi asked curiously, though form the look of her he had an idea.

Naruko came up beside Sasuke. "I'm Naruko Uzumaki." She blushed brightly and bowed her head in a polite manner.

Itachi nodded, "Ah, so _you_ are Naruko. My brother has told me lots about you."

Sasuke blanched and shook his head. "N-No I haven't!" He yelled. Naruko blinked and looked at Sasuke before smirking. "So you told your brother about me, huh? Did you tell him how I kicked your butt in the obstacle course the other day?" Sasuke's eyes widened. What was she saying in front of his brother!? "You did not! Itachi she is lying." He huffed, though Itachi just laughed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Naruko." Itachi gave the small girl a soft smile. It was nice to see someone get a rise out of Sasuke. He was a quiet boy most of the time unless he was around Itachi, so it was good that he had someone else to be himself with.

Naruko blushed and shook her head, "No, the pleasure is all mine. You're one of the best ninja out there! You graduated from the academy faster than almost anyone I've heard of! I would love to learn from you sometime."

Sasuke looked at Naruko with wide eyes. WHAT? Was she asking her brother to train her? And was she blushing while looking at Itachi? Did that mean she was into her brother? Somehow that didn't bode well with Sasuke.

Itachi hummed and looked at the girl. Unlike most, he knew what she was; the nine tails jinchuriki, or host. Since he was so skilled and was a high ranking ninja already with a maturity of someone much older than him, he was trusted with secret information, including the history behind Naruko Uzumaki's birth. It would be good to gauge her power…

"I wouldn't mind seeing what you can do." Itachi nodded.

"Really?" Naruko blushed in excitement.

"Really!?" Sasuke gapped at his brother. It took so much begging from him to get his brother to help him, and he just goes and accepts this idiot girls request without hesitation!?

"Really." Itachi agreed. "Hm, I suppose this may be a bit too fast, but if you are free you can come to Sasuke and my home for dinner tomorrow night. I will have our mother prepare a good meal and I shall see what I can teach you."

Naruko grinned and nodded, "Of course! Tomorrow is perfect, I don't have anything planned!"

Sasuke stared between the two in shock. What was going on!? Had the world just ended? Was he dreaming? The person he loved most in the world was now going to friendly with the person he hated most in the world? Sasuke pinched himself, just to make sure, but alas it was not a dream, but very much a reality.

Naruko Uzumaki would be coming for dinner.

* * *

Sasuke pouted softly as his mother, Mikoto Uchiha, hummed happily and danced around the kitchen as she prepared for dinner. When Itachi had suggested to their mother that Sasuke had a friend, a friend that was a _girl_ , that was interested in coming over to train, she was over the moon.

It was no secret that Mikoto had always wanted a daughter, and she always teased her sons that they should just dress in pretty dresses to make her happy. Of course Itachi was too mature for that, but sometimes Mikoto was lucky enough to wrestle Sasuke into wearing a cute bow or frilly apron when he helped her cook… But now a girl would be coming over, an actual girl! Of course she would say yes, much to Sasuke's disappointment.

"Mom, do we have to do this? I don't want to have her come over!" Sasuke pouted. Itachi was his brother, and he didn't want to share him… And Naruko was his… Well she was his rival, and he didn't want her brother teaching her things that would let her get ahead. Yeah, that was it.

Mikoto looked over at him with a big grin. "Of course we do! Its not every day my son has a girl from school come over!"

Sasuke pouted more and rested his face in his palm. "Naruko isn't even like a girl… She's not quiet and ladylike. She's not even pretty." He muttered quietly.

Mikoto quickly chopped up some tomatoes and threw them in a pan with oil, preparing for dinner. Sasuke perked up when he saw the tomatoes, and he hopped down from his seat and walked over. Mikoto laughed and took a piece of tomato and popped it into her six year old sons mouth. He was such a weird kid. Ever since he was old enough to eat normal food, he had loved tomatoes. Raw, cooked, grilled, any kind.

Sasuke chewed happily and then opened his mouth to have another piece.

"Uh uh." Mikoto smirked. "You'll have to wait for dinner. Now go get yourself ready, we're going to have a guest and you have to look good."

Sasuke puffed and walked out of the kitchen to do as his mother said. He didn't know why though, Naruko wasn't even an important person.

Half an hour later there was a knock at the front door of the Uchiha's home, notifying them of their guest arrival. Sasuke was told to go get the door, and so he trudged over to the door, dressed in a pair of black pants and a nice black sweater with the Uchiha symbol on both sleeves and the back. He opened the door and blinked in surprise.

In front of him, Naruko Uzumaki looked like an actual girl. She was wearing a light blue dress with white lace around the collar and bottom. Her hair was tied up in the usual ponytails, but this time with white ribbons. On her feet was a pair of light blue flats. She was void of the usual dirt and grime of training, instead she looked fresh and Sasuke could smell the sent of oranges wafting off of her.

Naruko looked back at Sasuke and realized he was staring. Her face lit up like a tomato. "What!? I know it looks stupid, but I couldn't come in my training clothes." She muttered and looked away.

Sasuke opened his mouth and then closed it again. Was Naruko Uzumaki actually pretty? Impossible. He went to say something, but he was interrupted.

"Oh aren't you just lovely!" Mikoto cooed from behind Sasuke and rushed forward and pulled Naruko into a hug. Naruko's eyes widened in shock and she stood there, unable to think of what to do. It had been so long since she had been hugged by someone else, someone older than her. It almost made her cry.

"Mom." Sasuke whined and Mikoto laughed. "Right, I'm sorry. I should introduce myself first. I'm Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke's mom." She greeted.

"Its fine." Naruko said shyly. "I'm Naruko Uzumaki. Its nice to meet you Mrs. Uchiha." She bowed deeply, her ponytails flopping forward as she did so. Sasuke blinked in shock. He had never seen Naruko like this, usually she was rather rambunctious.

Mikoto laughed and pat her head. "Don't be so formal, and call me Mikoto!" Naruko looked up in shock and nodded. Mikoto grinned at the blonde girl, "Well, I'm afraid I'm needed in the kitchen. Dinner will be ready in about forty-five minutes. You will meet my husband Fugaku at dinner. Itachi was telling me that he was going to show you two a few new training moves. Sasu-chan will show you were to go! Have fun children!" She giggled and went off to the kitchen.

Naruko waited until she walked to look at Sasuke who was red from embarrassment. He knew what she was thinking. "Shut up, don't say it. Don't you dare say it."

"Sasu-chan." Naruko snickered and laughed louder when Sasuke tried to punch her. She ducked past him and ran down his hallway, off to find Itachi.

"You're going the wrong way!" Sasuke huffed, following after her with a blush still spreading on his cheeks.

Naruko ran back from the hallway she had turned down and began running down the next hallway, giggling maniacally. "Okay Sasu-chan!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he began to run after her, making Naruko scream and run faster to get away.

Itachi was waiting for them in the training area of the Uchiha complex.

Naruko ran in with a big blush on her face from seeing Itachi and Sasuke ran in with a big blush from being teased by Naruko. The two of them came and stood in front of Itachi who stared back in amusement. The little girl certainly brought out the best in his brother. He hadn't seen Sasuke so energetic in a while.

"You two finally show up." Itachi commented and then nodded to Naruko. "You look nice. Thank you for coming."

Naruko's blush darkened and she shook her head. "No, thank you for having me."

Itachi nodded, "Our pleasure. Shall we get started?"

Sasuke shook his head. "She's in a dress, she can't train!"

"Can so." Naruko boasted and pulled her dress up enough to show him that she was wearing white shorts underneath. Sasuke blushed and looked away. "What do you think your doing!? Put your dress down!" He stated, flustered.

Naruko shrugged and looked at Itachi. "I can train. What are we going to learn?"

Itachi crouched down in front of them, "Well, why don't you tell me what your worst jutsu is?"

Naruko frowned slightly and looked over at Sasuke, who's interest was peaked. He wanted to know what her weakness was too. Naruko sighed and looked at her feet, "Henge jutsu." She muttered. Sasuke snickered. Henge? That was so simple.

Itachi nodded, "Transformation jutsu's can be difficult for some. It requires good chakra control. Why do you think you you cannot do it?

Naruko sighed. This had been a problem her and the Kyuubi had been struggling with. "Well, I have really good chakra control but I was told by Kyu- ah… I was once told that I have abnormally large chakra could for someone my age, and since henge jutsu takes only a little energy to produce one, its harder for me to concentrate it." Naruko winced at her almost slip up. Sasuke hadn't caught it, but Itachi had. He raised an eyebrow, but left it.

"So the problem is not that you cannot preform a transformation at all, but the normal henge is much too weak for you." He suggested, making Naruko nod. Sasuke pouted, well thats not what he had been hoping for. Now she was too powerful to do transformation jutsu? This girl was ridiculous.

Itachi nodded, "I may have a solution." He stood up straight and reached into one of his utility pouches and pulled out a scroll. He handed it to Naruko. "That is the scroll for one of the Hokage's special jutsus. He gave it to me as a gift, but I think you will find better use for it. Shadow clone jutsu, only a few people can master it because it takes quite a bit of chakra… But you just may be able to." He wasn't supposed to be giving that to anyone, but it was the only way he was going to gauge her power.

Naruko took the scroll with wide eyes and blushed. "Thank you."

 ** _Watch out for him._** A voice whispered through Naruko's head. **_Most kindnesses come with a price, try to get your head out of their girlish fantasies and be alert._**

Naruko blushed more at the fox demons voice. _I am_ not _having girlish fantasies! Besides, whats wrong if I did? Itachi is a good ninja!_

 ** _Just heed my warning and be careful, I do not have a good feeling about this Uchiha._**

Naruko almost rolled her eyes, but avoided it for it would look weird if the other two had seen her do it. _Yeah yeah, warning heeded. Gotcha. Go back to sleep!_ She didn't hear anything from him from the rest of her night.

"While you look over the scroll, I will be helping Sasuke with his target training." Itachi said, making Sasuke perk up.

Naruko looked at them in confusion. "But Sasuke is already good at throwing kunai and shuriken."

Sasuke smirked in pride, "Yeah, well brother is teaching me how to use different weapons, _and_ how to do trick shots."

Naruko nodded in interest, "Thats cool. You're lucky you have such a cool brother." Sasuke smirked and nodded. He supposed he would always have that over Naruko. His brother was way cooler than anyone else they knew. He turned to his brother then, "Well, what are we learning today?"

Itachi laughed and brought Sasuke over to the targets. Naruko sat on the sidelines, partially watching Sasuke and Itachi, but mostly focusing on the scroll in front of her, trying to figure it out on her own. She didn't want Kyuubi's help with this one. She could do this by herself.

Itachi watched in amusement as Sasuke tried three times as hard to do well, just in case Naruko was watching. Sasuke had always wanted to impress Itachi, but Naruko who was his supposed rival made him want to do even better, even if Sasuke didn't realize it. Naruko would make him a better ninja.

Naruko shot up from her seat on the sidelines half an hour later, making Sasuke falter and almost miss throw his windmill shuriken. He looked over at her in annoyance. "What is it?"

Naruko grinned brightly, making Sasuke blink in surprise. She had never seen her smile like that at him. "I think I figured it out!" She grinned. It wasn't terribly hard, it was mostly remembering the difficult hand signs and figuring out how to focus her chakra.

Itachi nodded, "Lets see how you do." Moment of truth. Was the girl as powerful as he was made out to be?

Naruko nodded and cracked her knuckles and rolled her neck in concentration before flipping through several hand signals. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" She called as she finished. The training field suddenly exploded in dust and smoke, making Sasuke cough and covered his mouth with one hand while the other waved the dust away. When the debris cleared, Sasuke was left staring at the girl in disappointment. He hadn't known what to expect from her, but her measly looking clones were not it.

"Whoops." The original Naruko blushed brightly. "I guess I don't have it figured out after all. I will keep working though!"

Itachi chuckled. "Continue to work at it, and it will come in time."

Naruko grinned and looked at Itachi, only to gasp and point at him. "Your eyes!"

Sasuke looked up quickly, expecting to see something wrong with Itachi's eyes, but he was just left smirking. _Oh that._ He thought to himself. Instead of the usual black, Itachi's eyes were a blood red with a black pupil and spinning commas weaving through the iris.

"Didn't you know?" Sasuke smirked. "Thats the Uchiha kekkei genkai."

Naruko scratched her head in confusion. She hadn't known the Uchiha had a kekkei genkai.

Itachi smiled, "Ah yes. This is the Sharingan eye, also known as the mirror wheel eye. It gives us the ability to read Genjutsu, Taijutsu and Ninjutsu while the person is doing the hand signs. We can use it to either repeat the jutsu or defeat the jutsu before it has enough time to be completed. The later stages of the Sharingan aid in powerful genjutsu."

Naruko let out a soft "wow" as she looked at the eyes.

Sasuke smirked, "Itachi has the full three comma Sharingan, which means his is fully activated and complete! And I'm going to get one some day too." He supposed this was a good thing to have over Naruko. There was no way she could ever have a Sharingan.

"Thats really cool." Naruko said in awe. Sasuke blushed and smirked in pride at his family bloodlines trait.

Itachi nodded, "I used it to watch your hand signals and watch how you focused your chakra." He didn't mention the fact that he could see how the girls blue chakra had slivers of red flashing through, signs of the beast that was sealed inside of her. With practice she would be able to control her chakra better and make many clones.

Naruko was about to ask more, but suddenly Mikoto was calling for them to come and get their dinner. Naruko called off her clones in a poof of smoke and grabbed the scroll she had gotten as a gift from Itachi with a blush. This was the first gift she had ever gotten from someone.

Itachi nodded at Sasuke and headed towards dinner, Naruko in tow.

Naruko was brought to their dining area. It was a large traditional room with tatami mat floors and a low table with cushions surrounding it. The table was covered in so many dishes that Naruko was sure she was attending a feast. Her mouth watered.

Mikoto grinned and patted the seat next to her. "Naruko sweetheart! Come over here and sit beside me."

Naruko blinked and nodded, walking over quickly and sitting down beside the woman. Her attention was turned to the door as a tall man with black hair, dark eyes and stress lines under his eyes padded in. Sasuke and Itachi's dad? Mikoto smiled and looked at Naruko. "Thats Fugaku, my husband." So it was their father.

Fugaku looked at Naruko as he sat down, and hummed to himself. The Nine Tailed Fox Demon had really left his mark upon the girl. Narrowed pupils, whisker scars, wild hair. "Welcome." He said in his usual monotone. It wasn't much, but it was the best Naruko would get. Naruko smiled and bowed her head softly. "Thank you for letting me come for dinner."

Mikoto clapped her hands together and smiled. "Good! All introductions are over. Now we shall eat!"

Dinner past by peacefully. Naruko got to taste the delicious home cooked meal of the Uchiha's. Mikoto got to sit and giggle and chat with Naruko as the men spoke about their missions. Sasuke sat quietly, trying to listen to his brother and father, but couldn't take his eyes off of Naruko and his Mother. He hadn't seen Naruko around other women before, as she was always hanging out with Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru. He had always thought that she was as tomboy as one could get, but watching her jump around and talk with his mother made him realize that even though Naruko was hyperactive, she could easily fit into his family.

When dinner was finished Mikoto began gathering the dishes to go and wash up. Naruko lunged forward and grabbed half of the plates. "Let me help you! I'm not really good at dishes, but I can try." She grinned at Mikoto. Mikoto laughed and nodded, "It will be nice to have help from a girl for once." Naruko stood up and followed after her.

Fugaku hummed as he pulled out some scrolls to look at while he digested. "She seems to have good manners for someone who has no parents. In her situation…"

Sasuke looked at his dad in shock. He barely complimented anyone, though it was kind of a backhanded compliment at that, but it was still something.

Itachi saw the look on Sasuke's face and almost laughed. He leaned down to Sasuke's ear and whispered, "She is very pretty too. Not to mention strong willed." He smirked at the blush that quickly exploded on Sasuke's cheeks.

Sasuke, who had forever thought girls other than his mother were disgusting, found himself silently agreeing.

* * *

Naruko followed after Sasuke later that evening. After the dishes were done and Fugaku had gone to his study, and Itachi had left saying he had paperwork to attend to, Mikoto had dismissed the two kids to go play out by the pond in their back yard.

The night was upon them and the moon was shining high in the sky. Fireflies had began to make their appearance and the cicadas gave them a soft background noise.

Sasuke, unsure of what to do, went over to the dock of the pond and plopped down on the edge. Naruko sat beside him, taking off her shoes and dipping her toes into the water. Neither of them knew what to say, so Sasuke took the plunge first.

"Im sorry about my mother… She can get very excited." He muttered and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Naruko shook her head and looked at him with those slit pupils. Somehow they didn't look so scary anymore, especially reflecting the light of the moon. "Its okay…" She said. "It was nice to be around a family. I like your family very much."

Sasuke blushed and nodded. "Well… You know… You can always come back again. For training of course, because you said you wanted to train with Big Brother. N-Not because I want you to."

Naruko grinned. "Really? I'm surprised… You aren't scared I'll become way better than you!?"

Sasuke snorted and shoved her arm lightly. "You can't even do clones! I thought you were supposed to be the best in our class with the girls."

Naruko sighed. That was her plan. Become the best kunoichi there ever was and rise above the rest. Of course, there was going to be challenges along the way. Naruko wasn't perfect.

"I'm bad at a lot of things actually." She murmured. Sasuke blinked and looked at her curiously, his eyes asking for her to say more. Naruko looked at him and huffed. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else! You are my rival after all…"

Sasuke nodded, interesting in what the girl was so embarrassed about.

Naruko sighed and looked down at the water. "I'm really good at Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, and chakra control is pretty easy if its for smaller things… But clones are harder and I really can't… Well, I can't do genjutsu."

Sasuke looked at her curiously. "Really?" He asked.

Naruko nodded. "I'm bad at doing it… And I fall for it pretty easily. There was this one time I was training with Iruka-sensei and he put genjutsu over a paint bomb and made it look like ramen… So I went to eat it and then it exploded! I was covered in blue paint for three days!"

Sasuke snorted and began to laugh. "You really are a guidable dobe!"

Naruko frowned and pouted. "Wh-Whatever! I'm still better than you at Taijutsu… And I could beat you at Ninjutsu!"

Sasuke looked at her and smirked, "No you couldn't. I know a super cool ninjutsu that no one else our age knows."

"Prove it!" Naruko exclaimed and hopped up. As if the Uchiha knew something she didn't!

Sasuke smirked and stood up. "Its a secret! Itachi was teaching me it so I could show my dad! You have to promise not to tell."

Naruko crossed her arms. "Lets see how good it is first Teme."

Sasuke sauntered to the edge of the dock and looked back over his shoulder at Naruko. "You may want to back up." Naruko frowned but backed up anyways. When she was reasonably far enough back Sasuke looked towards the water of the pond and began to make hand signals, focusing his chakra like Itachi had taught him, then releasing all his chakra into his mouth and out. "Fire Release: Fire Ball Jutsu!" From between the hole in Sasuke's hand that was held to his lips, a giant stream of fire burst forth from his mouth and pooled into a giant fire ball in the middle of the pond. He held the jutsu for a few seconds before letting it fade away. It left him a bit tired from exertion, but he was proud nonetheless. He turned back to Naruko with a triumphant smile. "See."

Naruko looked in awe. Maybe the Uchiha was better than she thought. That still didn't mean she was going to give up.

"So, do you admit I'm better than you? I'm way stronger." Sasuke boasted.

Naruko walked closer to him, arms still crossed. "I think that… Wait… What was that?" Naruko asked and looked around, as if she had heard something Sasuke hadn't.

"What was what?" Sasuke asked. He didn't like not knowing what was going on.

"That!" Naruko screamed and pointed behind him. Sasuke turned around quickly to see what it was, but was left with confusion. There was nothing there. He was about to turn around and yell at Naruko for her blindness, but he didn't have a chance as Naruko took it upon herself to kick him right in the back and sent him splashing into the pond. Sasuke swam to the surface and gasped, glaring up at Naruko who was laughing her head off.

"Ahahah! Who's gullible now _Sasu-chan_!" She roared in laughter and clutched her stomach. Sasuke huffed and swam closer, grabbing onto Naruko's foot and pulling her forward into the water as well. The splash was loud as she hit the water and was submerged. Sasuke waited for her to emerge… And waited… And waited. Was she not going to come back up? _Was she drowning!?_

Naruko burst from beneath the water, spraying Sasuke with water. The two stare at each other as they kept themselves above water before they both burst out laughing with each other.

"I promise to keep your secret." Naruko laughed.

"I promise to keep all of your secrets too." Sasuke laughed as well.

Somehow in that moment, an unbreakable bond was formed. The two, though still rivals, had made themselves a best friend that day.

* * *

Farther away, watching from the treetops, sat a shadowy figure. Down beneath him were two children, laughing carelessly in the water at their peaceful lives. Though they would not stay peaceful for much longer.

"Keep her close, Sasuke. For you are going to need her presence when the time comes." The figure whispered. "She will be all you have left after our family is gone."

Itachi stood from the tree, exposing himself in the moonlight, and jumped away quickly before the children could notice they were being watched.


End file.
